Anadolu's Morning Briefing - March 23, 2023

ANKARA (AA) – Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he will have a phone call in the coming days with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the Black Sea grain initiative.

The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points despite a banking crisis.

Google invited people living in the UK and the US to test its AI chatbot, known as Bard.

The US State Department summoned Israeli Ambassador in Washington Michael Herzog over a recently amended law on legitimizing settlements in the northern West Bank.

Israeli warplanes early Wednesday launched an airstrike on Aleppo airport in northwestern Syria, the Syrian regime's news agency SANA said.

Western countries, particularly the US and its allies, are doing everything to make the ongoing Moscow-Kyiv war not only a war for all Ukrainians but a war for all Europeans, the head of the Russian State Duma claimed.

Indian health authorities canceled the license of a pharmaceutical firm that manufactured cough syrup linked to the deaths of at least 19 children in Uzbekistan last year.

Demonstrations continued across France against the adoption of the controversial pension reform.

Former US President Donald Trump has now become arguably the only favorite in Republican Party’s primaries, polls from renowned business intelligence company Morning Consult showed on Wednesday as controversies continue to haunt him.

Fatalities in terrorist attacks in Africa's Sahel region have surged by over 2,000% over the past 15 years, according to a recent report.

China called for "mutual understanding and trust" in bilateral relations with the Philippines, as Manila announced it has identified four more locations for joint military bases with the US.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday made a surprise visit to Bakhmut, the industrial Ukrainian city which has been the epicenter of fighting with Russia for months.

Türkiye and Greece said they have made "satisfactory progress" in several areas of cooperation.

Mesut Ozil, a midfielder for Turkish club Basaksehir, announced his retirement from football.

Türkiye expressed "deep concern" over the increasing tensions in Jerusalem and West Bank as Muslim's holy month of Ramadan starts.

French President Emmanuel Macron did not budge an inch from his decision on pension reform, as he said Wednesday that a reform in the pension system is a must.

Twenty-five people were injured after a ship tipped over at an Edinburgh dockyard, local media reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended a Knesset bill allowing settlers to resettle in four evacuated settlements in the northern West Bank.

The death toll from Cyclone Freddy in Malawi has risen to 507, with another 1,332 people injured, according to latest figures released.

The International Monetary Fund and Ukrainian authorities have reached an agreement on a $15.6 billion loan program.

Around the world, 2 billion people lack safe drinking water, the World Health Organization and UNICEF said in a joint statement.

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland urged Israel and Palestine to refrain from unilateral steps that escalate tensions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which coincides with the Jewish holiday of Passover and Easter in Christianity.

Twelve antiquities smuggled out of Türkiye are coming back home, Türkiye's Consul General in New York announced.

The death toll from Tuesday's 6.8 magnitude earthquake that jolted most of Pakistan, as well as neighboring India and Afghanistan, has risen to 14, officials said.